ObjectiveTo investigate the epidemiological characteristics of human brucellosis (hereinafter referred to as brucellosis) in Baoshan City, Yunnan Province, and to provide scientific evidence for adjusting prevention and control strategies. MethodsBased on the surveillance data of reported brucellosis cases in Baoshan City from 2020 to 2023 and the information collected through individual epidemiological questionnaire surveys, the epidemic status and clinical characteristics of brucellosis in Baoshan City were analyzed using descriptive epidemiological methods. ResultsA total of 85 brucellosis cases were reported in Baoshan City from 2020 to 2023, and detailed individual information was obtained for 83 of them. Brucellosis in Baoshan City showed a clear seasonal pattern, with peak incidence from May to September. The average annual incidence rate was 0.80/100 000, with a male-to-female ratio of 7.5∶1. And 82.35% of the cases aged 30 to 60 years, with farmers being the predominant affected group. The main clinical manifestations of the cases were myalgia and arthralgia. Regarding transmission routes, 87.95% of the cases had a contact history with cattle, with livestock rearing and grazing being the main exposure modes. Most infections occurred at home. ConclusionFrom 2020 to 2023, the incidence of brucellosis in Baoshan City exhibited a fluctuating upward trend, with a peak period from May to September. Males and farmers were identified as the primary affected populations. It is recommended to strengthen livestock surveillance and control, and to enhance both awareness and self-protection capacity among high-risk groups.

ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism through which Gantou Fumu decoction （GDFMT）-containing serum inhibits the activation of hepatic stellate cells. MethodsSerum pharmacology techniques were employed to prepare GDFMT-containing serum samples. Rat hepatic stellate cells （HSCT6） were randomly allocated into three groups： Control， penicillamine （90 mg·kg^-1）， and GDFMT （6.8 g·kg^-1）. Cell viability was assessed by the cell counting kti-8 （CCK-8） assay， intracellular ROS levels were determined by flow cytometry using the DCFH‑DA fluorescent probe and while extracellular collagen Ⅰ （ColⅠ） levels were quantified via enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Intracellular α-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA） expression was visualized through immunofluorescence staining. Real-time polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） and Western blot were performed to evaluate alterations in the expression of nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 （Nrf2）， glutamate cysteine ligase， catalytic （GCLC）， glutamate-cysteine ligase， modifier subunit （GCLM）， Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 （Keap1）， NAD（P）H：Quinone oxidoreductase 1 （NQO1）， and heme oxygenase-1 （HO-1）. Genetic knockdown of Nrf2 was achieved through small interfering （siRNA） transfection to validate pathway specificity. ResultsCCK-8 data indicated that under the selected experimental conditions， culturing HSCT6 cells with 10% （volume fraction） GDFMT-containing serum for 48 h demonstrated equivalent effect in inhibiting HSCT6 cell proliferation compared with culturing HSCT6 cells with 10% （volume fraction） penicillamine-containing serum for 36 h， with no statistically significant difference between the two groups. After treatment of HSCT6 cells with siRNA-mediated Nrf2 gene transfection technique， the inhibitory effect of GDFMT on the activation process of HSCT6 cells was significantly weakened. After HSCT6 cells were cultured with GDFMT-containing serum for 48 h， the flow cytometry with a fluorescence probe showed that the content of reactive oxygen species （ROS） in the cells was significantly reduced. After the expression level of the Nrf2 gene in HSCT6 cells was knocked down by siRNA transfection， the content of ROS increased （P<0.01）， indicating that GDFMT significantly reduced the ROS level in activated HSCT6 cells， and this effect strictly depended on the integrity of the Nrf2 pathway. Quantitative analysis by ELISA showed that the synthesis of ColⅠ in the HSCT6 cell culture system treated with GDFMT-containing serum for 48 h was lower than that in the control group （P<0.01）. After the Nrf2 gene level of HSCT6 cells was knocked down by siRNA transfection， the ColⅠ concentration in the culture supernatant increased （P<0.01）. The results of α-SMA detection by IF method showed that compared with the normal group， GDFMT-containing serum reduced the expression of α-SMA （P<0.01） and the protein level of α-SMA in HSCT6 cells was increased （P<0.01） after siRNA-mediated Nrf2 silencing， suggesting that Nrf2 signaling pathway may be involved in regulating the phenotypic transformation process of the cells. Real-time PCR and Western blot results showed that GDFMT-containing serum reduced the protein level of α-SMA （P<0.01） and enhanced the gene and protein levels of Nrf2 in the nucleus and GCLC， HO-1， Keap1， GCLM， and NQO1 in the cytoplasm of HSCT6 cells （P<0.05， P<0.01）. After the Nrf2 gene level of HSCT6 cells was knocked down by siRNA transfection， the protein level of α-SMA was increased （P<0.01）， and the levels of GCLC， GCLM， Keap1， NQO1， and HO-1 were decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. These results indicated that GDFMT-containing serum successfully triggered the Nrf2 signaling pathway of HSCT6 cells. ConclusionThe anti-hepatic fibrosis effect of 10%GDFMT was equivalent to that of penicillamine. In addition， GDFMT can inhibit HSC activation and reduce oxidative stress damage by activating the Nrf2/antioxidant response element （ARE） pathway， as manifested by the up-regulated expression of Nrf2 and downstream antioxidant genes （GCLC， GCLM， HO-1， Keap1， and NQO1） and reduced secretion of ROS， α-SMA， and ColⅠ.

Objective:To explore the split-face phenomenon in patients with bulbar-involved amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) through clinical and electrophysiological studies.Methods:A total of 52 clinically definite and clinically probable cases of bulbar-involved ALS, diagnosed according to the World Federation of Neurology El Escorial criteria, were retrospectively collected in the Third Central Hospital of Tianjin from September 2019 to November 2022. And 58 patients with idiopathic facial nerve paralysis with onset time≤7 days who visited the Department of Neurology of the Third Central Hospital of Tianjin during the same period were collected as control group. The firm eye closure (FC) score and cheek bulge (CB) score were used to assess the clinical involvement of facial muscles (dividing into facial muscle involvement group and non-facial muscle involvement group) and the presence of the split-face phenomenon (strong eye closure and weak cheek bulging) in ALS patients. The compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitudes of the bilateral orbicularis oculi and orbicularis oris muscles were measured using the Nicolet EDX Viking electromyography/evoked potential system. The CMAP amplitude ratio was calculated. The facial nerve electrophysiological differences were compared between ALS patients with bulbar involvement and patients with idiopathic facial nerve paralysis. The analysis of electrophysiological data across various groups was carried out utilizing the Kruskal-Wallis H test, while pairwise comparisons between groups were executed employing the Bonferroni correction method. Additionally, a stepwise binary Logistic regression analysis was implemented to ascertain the factors associated with facial muscle involvement in patients with bulbar-involved ALS. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of facial nerve electrophysiological testing in diagnosing ALS in the presence of symptoms of facial muscle involvement. Results:Among the 52 ALS patients with bulbar involvement, there were 20 cases (38.5%) with facial muscle involvements, all of which were bilateral; 16 patients (30.8%) exhibited weakness solely in the ability to puff their cheeks, 1 patient (1.9%) presented with weakness exclusively in closing the eyes, and 3 patients (5.8%) experienced weakness in both closing the eyes and puffing the cheeks. The Revised Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) score of the facial muscle involvement group was lower compared to the non-facial muscle involvement group (36.90±9.20 vs 40.75±5.21, t=2.419, P=0.019), while the FC score and CB score were higher in the facial muscle involvement group [FC score: 0(0, 1) vs 0(0, 0), U=5.854, P<0.001; CB score: 4(3, 4) vs 0(0, 0), U=9.069, P<0.001], showing statistically significant differences. There was no statistically significant difference in the CMAP amplitude of the orbicularis oculi muscle between the facial muscle involvement group and the healthy side of the idiopathic facial nerve paralysis group, the affected side of the idiopathic facial nerve paralysis group, and the non-facial muscle involvement group (all P>0.05). The CMAP amplitude of the orbicularis oris muscle in the facial muscle involvement group [1 100.00 (775.00, 1 375.00) μV] was lower than that in the healthy side of the idiopathic facial nerve paralysis group [1 800.00 (1 400.00, 2 300.00) μV] and the non-facial muscle involvement group [1 555.00 (1 202.50, 1 980.00) μV], with statistically significant differences ( H=5.884, P<0.001; H=4.114, P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in the CMAP amplitude of the orbicularis oris muscle between the facial muscle involvement group and the affected side of the idiopathic facial nerve paralysis group ( P>0.05). The CMAP amplitude ratio of the orbicularis oculi/orbicularis oris muscles in the facial muscle involvement group [0.83(0.51, 1.14)] was higher than that in the healthy side of the idiopathic facial nerve paralysis group [0.55(0.39, 0.73)], the affected side of the idiopathic facial nerve paralysis group [0.57(0.40, 0.73)], and the non-facial muscle involvement group [0.60(0.42, 0.71)], with statistically significant differences ( H=-3.440, P=0.003; H=-3.433, P=0.004; H=-3.225, P=0.008). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the CMAP amplitude of orbicularis oris muscle ( OR=0.998,95% CI 0.997-0.999, P<0.001) and ALSFRS-R score ( OR=0.916,95% CI 0.857-0.979, P=0.010) were factors associated with facial muscle involvement in ALS patients with bulbar involvement. The ROC curve analysis results showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of the orbicularis oculi muscle CMAP was 0.629, the AUC of the orbicularis oris muscle CMAP was 0.838, and the AUC of the CMAP amplitude ratio of the orbicularis oculi/orbicularis oris muscles was 0.690 in the facial muscle involvement group. Conclusions:Patients with bulbar-involved ALS have split-face phenomenon characterized by strong eye closure and weak cheek bulging. When bulbar-involved ALS patients have symptoms of facial muscle involvement, the CMAP amplitude of the orbicularis oris muscle decreases significantly, whereas the CMAP amplitude of the orbicularis oculi muscle remains relatively stable, further illustrating the split phenomenon.

Objective To assess the clinical utility of single-molecule real-time technology(SMRT)in identifying triplicated α-globin genes and compound variant alleles.Methods A total of 36 samples with tripli-cated α-globin genes were collected.Among them,28 samples were confirmed by PCR flow-through hybridiza-tion and 8 samples were confirmed by Next Generation Sequencing(NGS).These 36 samples included tripli-cated α-globin genes compound variants with cis or trans arrangements unknown,such as αααanti4 2 compoundαcsα(2 cases),αααanti4.2 compound-α3.7(10 cases),and HKαα/--SEA pending confirmation(2 cases),SMRT technology was employed to detect thalassemia gene variants.Additionally,a pedigree with the genotype ofαααanti4.2 compound-α3.7 variant was recruited,including the proband(Ⅱ-1),its father(Ⅰ-1),and mother(Ⅰ-2).PCR flow-through hybridization and SMRT were employed to detect thalassemia gene variants.Results SMRT detected 35 out of 36 samples with triplicated α-globin genes,and 1 sample with quadrupllcated α-globin genes(ααααanti4.2).Among the 2 αααanti4 2 compound αCSα variant samples,both αααanti42 and αCSα were arranged in trans,with a genotype of αααanti4.2/αCSα.Among the 10 αααanti4.2 compound-α3.7 variant samples,9 samples hadαααanti4.2 and-α3.7 in a cis arrangement,with a genotype of HKαα/αα,and 1 sample had αααannti4.2 and-α3.7 in a trans arrangement,with a genotype of αααanti4.2/-α3.7.Compared with PCR flow-through hybridization,SMRT detected one case of a large segment deletion in the β-globin gene and two unknown variants,which led to an increase in the positive detection rate of approximately 10.71％(3/28).The pedigree analysis showed that the proband(Ⅱ-1)inherited αααanti4.2 and-α3.7 variants from his mother(Ⅰ-2),with a genotype of HKαα/αα,con-sistent with the SMRT detection results.Conclusion SMRT can accurately detect triplicated or quadrupllcat-ed α-globin genes,and compound variant alleles.It offers high accuracy,enables one-step identification of cis or trans arrangements,and provides comprehensive coverage of thalassemia gene variations,demonstrating its significant clinical value.

At present, the incidence and mortality rate of severe acute pancreatitis is 15%-20% and about 20%, respectively, which can lead to local and systemic complications of patients and huge medical costs. The occurrence of acute pancreatitis is closely related to inflammatory response. This article reviews the progress of anti-inflammation therapy and immunotherapy of acute pancreatitis, aiming to provide reference for treatment in patients with acute pancreatitis.

Ferroptosis is a unique regulated form of cell death that is distinct from apoptosis, necrosis, and other well-characterized regulated cell death types, and plays an important role in the occurrence and development of chronic metabolic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Recently, increasing evidence has supported traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a new hot spot for the treatment of chronic metabolic diseases by mediating ferroptosis. Unfortunately, few systematic reviews have described the importance of TCM in treating chronic metabolic diseases through the ferroptosis pathway. In the current review, the mechanism of ferroptosis and the roles of ferroptosis in chronic metabolic diseases are summarized. Additionally, this review illustrates that the regulation of ferroptosis by TCM could be an effective approach for treating chronic metabolic diseases based on experimental evidence and clinical application. In summary, this work will improve the understanding of ferroptosis and the ability of TCM to regulate ferroptosis in chronic metabolic diseases, thereby promoting the development and application of natural TCM.

Objective To explore the application effect of key point nursing from the perspective of cluster analysis in preventing complications among patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI)undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI).Methods A total of 97 AMI patients who un-derwent PCI in the cardiology department of our hospital from March 2022 to October 2023 were se-lected and divided into control group with 51 patients(March to December 2022)and observation group with 46 patients(January to October 2023)based on their admission time.The control group received routine nursing,while the observation group received key point nursing from the perspective of cluster analysis.The emergency nursing conditions,occurrence of complications during hospitaliza-tion,major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE),and satisfaction of patients were compared be-tween the two groups.Results The door-to-balloon(D2B)time,results of time to myocardial injury markers,and length of hospital stay were shorter in the observation group than those in the control group(P＜0.05).The incidence rates of reperfusion arrhythmia during surgery,total vascular com-plications after surgery,unplanned extubation,and total MACE within 6 months after surgery were lower in the observation group than those in the control group(P＜0.05).The overall satisfaction rate with nursing in the observation group was 95.65％(44/46),which was higher than 82.35％(42/51)in the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Key point nursing from the perspective of cluster analysis can shorten the rescue time and length of hospital stay for patients undergoing PCI,reduce the incidence of vascular complications and MACE during hospitalization,and improve satis-faction of patients.

Objective To investigate the effect of APOE4 in regulating LRP1 and on β-amyloid protein Aβ25-35-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory response in astrocytes.Methods Human astrocytes were transfected with sh-NC,sh-APOE4,pcDNA-NC,and pcDNA-LRP1,and then induced with 10 μM Aβ25-35 for 24 h to establish an AD cell model.The roles of APOE4 and LRP1 in Aβ25-35-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory response were assessed using Western blot,flow cytometry,the detection kits of MDA,SOD,and GSH,as well as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)kits for TNF-α,IL-6,and IL-1β.The protein-protein interaction between APOE4 and LRP1 was detected through co-immunoprecipitation and western blot experiments.Results Aβ25-35 induction upregulated APOE4 expression(P<0.01),promoted the levels of ROS(P<0.001),MDA(P<0.001),and inflammatory cytokines TNF-α,IL-6,and IL-1β(P<0.001)in astrocytes,while inhibited the expression of SOD,GSH,and LRP1(P<0.001).Knockdown of APOE4 or overexpression of LRP1 suppressed the Aβ25-35-induced increase in ROS,oxidative stress markers,and inflammatory cytokines in cells(P<0.05).APOE4 negatively regulated LRP1 protein expression through protein-protein interactions.The levels of ROS,MDA,and inflammatory cytokines were higher(P<0.05),and the concentrations of SOD and GSH were lower(P<0.001),in cells with simultaneous knockdown of APOE4 and LRP1 compared to those with APOE4 knockdown alone.Conclusion Knockdown of APOE4 attenuates Aβ25-35-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory response in astrocytes by upregulating LRP1.

Objective To analyze the current quality of treatment for hospitalized cancer patients in Bei-jing,identify major issues in treatment practices,and propose improvements.Methods Nine hospitals in Beijing were selected for examination.Expert on-site interviews and medical record sampling were conducted.The"Bei-jing Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Quality Control Checklist"was used to assess the hardware,management,anti-cancer drug therapy,radiation therapy,and surgical treatment during cancer treatment at these hospitals from January to October 2023.The relevant problems were analyzed.Results Among the nine hospitals,two(22.2％)were equipped with laminar flow rooms,and three(33.3％)had intravenous drug preparation centers.In terms of institutional management,seven hospitals(77.8％)had standardized anti-cancer drug prescription authority management,eight(88.9％)had complete emergency plans,and five(55.6％)had oncology specialist pharmacists.Regarding anti-cancer drug therapy,the areas with higher completion rates included pathology diag-nosis support(97.6％),routine pre-treatment examinations(96.3％),adverse reaction evaluation(92.7％),discharge summaries(95.1％),and admission records(91.5％).However,the accuracy of tumor staging before treatment(70.7％)and the evaluation of therapeutic efficacy after drug treatment(76.9％)needed improvement.The oncology specialty significantly outperformed the non-oncology specialty in terms of the accuracy rate of TNM staging(86.0％vs.46.9％,P＜0.001),the completeness of informed consent forms(100％vs.68.8％,P＜0.001),the completeness of drug indication evaluation(96.0％vs.78.1％,P=0.025),the completeness of admission medical history records(98.0％vs.81.3％,P=0.008),the rationality of drug dosage(96.0％vs.75.0％,P=0.005),the rationality of drug infusion time(100％vs.62.5％,P＜0.001),and the rationality of the order of drug infusion(100％vs.87.5％,P=0.010).Although the quality of radiation therapy was high,the subsequent evaluation of therapeutic efficacy(39.3％)requires enhancement.In surgical treatment,the preoper-ative pathology diagnosis support rate(78.1％)and the accuracy of tumor staging(37.5％)were relatively low,indicating issues with incomplete preoperative evaluation and the absence of multidisciplinary discussions.Conclusions There remains significant room for improvement in the quality of cancer treatment in China.It is recommended to standardize tumor staging assessment processes,strengthen entry assessments for non-oncology departments,promote the implementation of multidisciplinary treatment models,and establish a multi-department collaborative management model.Continuous monitoring of cancer diagnosis and treatment quality indicators is es-sential to promote ongoing improvements in cancer treatment quality.

Objective To understand the changing composition and antibiotic resistance of bacterial species in the clinical isolates from outpatient and emergency department(hereinafter referred to as outpatients)and inpatient children over time in various hospitals,and to provide laboratory evidence for rational antibiotic use.Methods The data on clinically isolated pathogenic bacteria and antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates from outpatients and inpatient children in the CHINET program from 2015 to 2021 were collected and analyzed.Results A total of 278 471 isolates were isolated from pediatric patients in the CHINET program from 2015 to 2021.About 17.1％of the strains were isolated from outpatients,primarily group A β-hemolytic Streptococcus,Escherichia coli,and Staphylococcus aureus.Most of the strains(82.9％)were isolated from inpatients,mainly SS.aureus,E.coli,and H.influenzae.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant S.aureus(MRSA)in outpatients(24.5％)was lower than that in inpatient children(31.5％).The MRSA isolates from outpatients showed lower resistance rates to the antibiotics tested than the strains isolated from inpatient children.The prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis or E.faecium and penicillin-resistant S.pneumoniae was low in either outpatients or inpatient children.S.pneumoniae,β-hemolytic Streptococcus and S.viridans showed high resistance rates to erythromycin.The prevalence of erythromycin-resistant group A β-hemolytic Streptococcus was higher in outpatients than that in inpatient children.The prevalence of β-lactamase-producing H.influenzae showed an overall upward trend in children,but lower in outpatients(45.1％)than in inpatient children(59.4％).The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae(CRKpn),carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa(CRPae)and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii(CRAba)was 14％,11.7％,47.8％in outpatients,but 24.2％,20.6％,and 52.8％in inpatient children,respectively.The prevalence of multidrug-resistant E.coli,K.pneumoniae,Proteus mirabilis,P.aeruginosa and A.baumannii strains was lower in outpatients than in inpatient children.The prevalence of fluoroquinolone-resistant E.coli,ESBLs-producing K.pneumoniae,ESBLs-producing P.mirabilis,carbapenem-resistant E.coli(CREco),CRKpn,and CRPae was lower in children in outpatients than in inpatient children,but the prevalence of CRAba in 2021 was higher than in inpatient children.Conclusions The distribution of clinical isolates from children is different between outpatients and inpatients.The prevalence of MRSA,ESBL,and CRO was higher in inpatient children than in outpatients.Antibiotics should be used rationally in clinical practice based on etiological diagnosis and antimicrobial susceptibility test results.Ongoing antimicrobial resistance surveillance and prevention and control of hospital infections are crucial to curbing bacterial resistance.